Yeah, the MAC is a pretty big downgrade. I mean we will have to see after a couple of years how it pans out, but the only conferences worse in FBS are the Sun Belt and CUSA...both of which have been reduced to "entry level conferences" for teams making the jump from FCS.
http://realtimerpi.com/football/ncaaf_conf_Men.html
EDIT TO ADD: Also, the current MAC bowls pay out a total of 1.825. The current AAC bowls payout a total of 7.3M. I know this will change a little for next year, and things are going to change with the new playoff, but the AAC bowls are much more lucrative than the MAC ones are.